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Watching over your nest egg
Focus on the future during market ups and downs
By Doreen FrielIf you're saving for retirement through a vehicle like a 401(k) plan, you've made a smart decision — one that will help you gain greater financial security. But if you're like many retirement investors, watching your account balance move in any direction other than "up" causes you to second guess.
Whether retirement is many years away or just around the corner, fluctuations in the stock and bond markets often stir up a great deal of anxiety. But it doesn't have to be that way — once you understand how those markets work.
Cyclical market
Market drops often create headlines, but market gains don't always make the front page. When it comes to investing, the historical record speaks for itself — market performance is cyclical (though, of course, past performance doesn't guarantee future results). This is part of the reason why many financial advisers caution investors to avoid making knee-jerk investment decisions based on day-to-day market activity.
Let's say you invested $1 in April 1982 in investments that track indices of each of the three major asset classes — stocks, bonds, and cash. You kept that dollar in those investments for the next 30 years.
Over that time, your investment experienced gains and losses. But at the end of the day, your $1 investment made money. Generally, during periods when one asset class experiences a dip or gain, another asset class trends, or moves, in the opposite direction. Despite the ups and downs of the market, all asset classes exceed the pace of inflation over the same span.
What does all this mean to your 401(k) account? Despite what the stock market may do in the short term, keep your eyes focused on the future. Remember that the market goes through cycles, so developing a diverse portfolio — one with stock, bond, and cash investments — will cushion you from down cycles.
By being patient when market downturns occur and by staying invested, you can generally recover what was "lost" when prices dropped.
Long-term guidance
For guidance on how you should consider investing for long-term financial goals and objectives, consult a financial professional or tax adviser. If you are looking for a stockbroker or investment advisor and want to make sure he or she is properly registered in North Carolina, the Securities Division of the Secretary of State in Raleigh can tell you. Call (919) 733-3924 or www.secretary.state.nc.us/sec. For other kinds of financial planners, check with your area's Better Business Bureau.
About the Author
Doreen Friel is a marketing communications consultant who produces materials for the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.-
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Getting naked, or just barely, in the name of charity or just plain fun is the latest trend on college campuses across America. Whether it's a 5K run in bras and panties, posing in the buff for a fundraising calendar, or taking a Christmas card photo with Santa hats on and little else – coeds are getting naked nationwide.
More and more coeds, in fact.
Case in point: Arizona State University's "Undie Run" Facebook page has more than 16,000"Likes," and the upcoming run this year is already packed with pledged participants.
At the annual ASU run, female coeds don some of their best lingerie and their male counterparts don their own tighty whiteys. It draws thousands and has been described by at least one student as "a little freaky," according to a local news report. The effort aids a variety of charities.
Similarly, the annual Nearly Naked Run at Boston University is so popular it had to change to a larger venue. It's billed as a chance to "Undress, De-Stress and Do Good," according to its Facebook page. The effort collects clothes for the homeless.
At Washington University in St. Louis, about 40 students took part in its inaugural Nearly Naked Run in December to raise money for an arts outreach program for underprivileged youth. Students ran around the campus in their underwear, sports bras and little else.
Many other campuses across the nation offer similar excuses to strip down for charity. But fun runs aren't the only show around.
Yale University Men's Freshman Heavyweight Crew in December took a Christmas card team photo in which they wore nothing but Santa hats and big grins, holding stockings over their privates.
Across the pond, both the male and female rowing teams at the UK-based University of Warwick took nude photos of themselves in which they were cleverly positioned or used props to show nearly everything, stopping just shy of the Full Monty, although there was plenty of buttocks to go around. The pictures, published in December, were taken to fundraise for their athletic programs as well as raise money for charity.
While some applaud the efforts or simply brush them off as youthful fun, others argue it's an example of the sexualization of America's youth and an abandonment of modesty.
Colleen Carroll Campbell, a prominent conservative commentator, said in an interview with The College Fix that these students have been raised in a sexualized culture and "absorbed its messages all too well, mistakenly equating exhibitionism with liberation and objectification with positive attention."
The efforts are also misguided, added Campbell, a journalist, EWTN host, former presidential speechwriter, and author of "My Sisters the Saints: A Spiritual Memoir" and "The New Faithful: Why Young Adults Are Embracing Christian Orthodoxy."
"College students have been pulling silly stunts and shocking pranks for generations, so that's nothing new," she said. "What is new, perhaps, is to try to recast group stripteases as evidence of altruism – as if scampering in your undies is somehow more selfless than serving in a soup kitchen, tutoring struggling students or helping build new homes for low-income families."
She also questions whether students have thought longterm about their actions.
"This trend probably won't be one that wears well," Campbell said. "Romping in the nude may feel exciting when you're 20, but when you're 30 and job hunting – or spouse hunting – and trying to explain those compromising online photos, it's another story."
Fix contributor Judith Ayers is a student at York College of Pennsylvania.
IMAGE CREDIT: Huffington Post
Click here to Like The College Fix on Facebook.

subset: commoncrawl


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Nintendo says the Wii U will be out in 2012, but can it boost the company's falling profits?
Proving that Apple is the exception at the moment, Nintendo has published its financial results for the final quarter of 2011, which unfortunately saw a 61% drop in profits and a 40% fall in sales revenue too.
The company also re-evaluated its projected sales for the Wii and 3DS, cutting them from 12 million to 10 million, and 16 million to 14 million respectively. Bad news all round, especially when you consider the 3DS had an early price drop last year.
It wasn't all negative however, as the president of Nintendo, Satoru Iwata, has confirmed that the Wii U console will be going on sale in the USA, Europe and Japan in time for the 2012 holiday sales period. With Black Friday often symbolizing the beginning of the Christmas rush in the US, a November date is possible.
However, will the Wii U be the savior Nintendo needs it to be? From a consumer viewpoint, many either won't know anything about it at all, or will be scrabbling around for what little information Nintendo has so far released. We've had a hands-on with the device recently, and have high hopes for the application store and eBook store said to be launching alongside the console, but crucial details such as pricing and game selection are still all unknown.
We're promised that E3 2012 will be the stage for the Wii U's grand unveiling, with a chance of some information being revealed a little earlier.
Nintendo's continued use of proprietary media could also be a stumbling block to the Wii U's success, especially as rumors suggesting Microsoft could adopt Blu-ray for the Xbox 720 gather pace, potentially leaving the Wii U out in the cold when customers look for an "entertainment hub."
If it's one thing Nintendo does well though, it's fun, and the Wii U looks to have plenty of it. But can an overdose of fun help them fend off Apple and Google Android, where the games are both casual and fun too.
Analysts are predicting dark days ahead for Nintendo, with a spokesperson for a Tokyo-based investment management company telling Bloomberg that discussions on "how much worse it can get" will be going on behind closed doors, while another speculates that profits will continue to drop as "people are starting to stay away from games consoles."
Mr. Iwata said that he "had higher expectations for the year-end season, but failed to meet them," and one has to wonder whether he'll be saying the same thing this time next year. A quote from a fund manager interviewed by Reuters probably echoes what many think, that "if they don't move into new categories, they will no doubt lose the great scale they've amassed."
Instead of continuing to shun other platforms, perhaps Nintendo should embrace iOS, Android and all the rest. Surely this would be preferable to the potentially ignominious alternative?
This article was originally posted on Digital Trends
More from Digital Trends
Sony CEO says Nintendo devices are 'babysitting tools'
Is it a PC? Is it a console? Nope, it's the new Alienware X51
Nintendo will introduce 'full-blown' app store with the Wii U


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JERSEY CITY – On Wednesday, a Jersey City Department of Public Works (DPW) manager was arrested for allegedly soliciting prostitution while allegedly driving a municipal vehicle he was not authorized to use after work hours, according to Mayor Steven Fulop. That employee, George Reyes, 47, of North Arlington, is now facing termination for the alleged incident.
According to the mayor's office, Jersey City police observed Reyes allegedly soliciting sex from an alleged prostitute on Danforth and Ocean Avenues just after 6 p.m. while in a marked DPW car. Reyes has been charged with prowling for the purpose of engaging in prostitution and unlawful taking of means of conveyance.
This incident comes just days after Jersey City Police Detective William Kallert was charged by the JCPD with DWI. Kallert was immediately suspended without pay after he was found allegedly intoxicated in an unmarked police vehicle he was not authorized to use after hours.
Referring to the Reyes incident, Fulop said in a press release Thursday, "This is the second time in just one week that a city employee has [allegedly] committed a crime while using a city vehicle without authorization, which speaks to the pervasive culture of abuse that has been allowed to exist in Jersey City. This is unacceptable and we are going to root out this type of behavior and put an end to it. We will not tolerate this…My expectation is that all city employees will be role models both on and off duty and clearly this was not the case tonight. We will deal with this incident both aggressively and fairly."
To help address the alleged misuse of municipal vehicles after work hours, Fulop said he plans to add GPS devices to all city cars.


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When Alan Romick founded Headsweats® Perspiration Technology in 1998, he did so after years of being frustrated by things like migrating sunscreen, heavy-sweat blindness and odd sunburn patterns from his helmet. Romick was a shoe-industry veteran and had been a cyclist for years. He was determined to create headwear that actually worked.
Romick used feedback from the cycling community to take the best attributes of what was available and improve upon it. Little did he know that his prototype, Headsweats Classic Race Hat, would quietly become the go-to headwear option for athletes around the world.
Headsweats expanded its line to include over 17 items available in over 140 colors and styles. Soon after, the company's products were seen on athletes winning events such as the Ironman Kona and Charles Regatta. The Headsweats Go Hat, as well as Headsweats CoolMax Classic skullcaps and Headsweats Topless headbands now lead their respective industries in the sports of triathlon, rowing, and adventure-racing. The makers use innovative technology to produce washable, airlight headwear with supreme moisture-wicking capabilities.
Athletes can still purchase the Headsweats Ultralite Hat. They can also try numerous other products in the company's line — products such as the Headsweats Go Hat, the Headsweats Supervisor, the Headsweats Ultralite Hat, or the Headsweats CoolMax Shorty.


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January 14, 2012 "C4SS" — The US Department of Defense recently promulgated a new "defense" guidance document: "Sustaining US Global Leadership: Priorities for 21st Century Defense." I use scare quotes because it just doesn't seem quite right to use "defense" to describe a document that — like its predecessors — envisions something like an American Thousand-Year Reich.
The greatest shift in emphasis is in the section "Project power despite Anti-Access/Area Denial Challenges." The "threat" to be countered is that China and Iran "will continue to pursue asymmetric means to counter our power projection capabilities."
That refers to a long-standing phenomenon: What Pentagon analysts call "Assassin's Mace" weapons — cheap, agile weapons that render expensive, high-tech, weapons systems ineffective at a cost several orders of magnitude cheaper than the Pentagon's gold-plated turds. In the context of "area denial," they include cheap anti-ship mines, surface-to-air missiles, and anti-ship missiles like the Sunburn (which some believe could destroy or severely damage aircraft carriers).
Thus the Pentagon defines as a "threat" a country's ability to defend itself effectively against attack or to prevent an enemy from putting offensive forces into place to attack it. Yes, you read that right: To the American national security establishment, it's considered threatening when you prepare to defend yourself against attack by the United States. It's the perspective of a Family Circus character: "Mommy, he hit me back!" That kind of double standard is pretty common in the National Security State's assessment of the world.
What can one say of a situation in which America runs a military budget equal to the rest of the industrialized world put together, maintains military bases in half the countries around the globe, routinely intervenes to overthrow governments, rings China with military bases — then solemnly announces that China's military establishment is "far larger than called for by its legitimate defensive needs?"
Considering that the U.S. considers its "legitimate defensive needs" to encompass outspending the other top ten military powers in the world combined and maintaining the ability to preemptively attack any other country in the world, it's hard to guess what the Pentagon's criterion is for determining China's "legitimate defensive needs." But it's safe to say "legitimate" defensive forces don't extend to the ability for China to defend its territory against attack from the main actual threat facing it: A global superpower trying to turn China's neighborhood into a battlefield.
And how about attacking Saddam for "making war on his own neighbors" — when the U.S. actively supported his invasion of Iran in the 1980s? Not to mention the U.S. Marines waltzing in and out of most of America's Caribbean "neighbors" throughout the middle of the 20th century. Did they have "incubator babies" in Nicaragua and Costa Rica back in the 1930s?
To Washington, any country capable of resisting American attack, or of "defying" American commands (whether under a UN Security Council figleaf or not) is by definition a "threat." And any country inflicting significant losses on U.S. military forces, in the process of defending itself against American military attack, is guilty of aggression (against U.S. attempts to "defend our freedom," one presumes).
American perceptions of "self-defense" and "aggression" are as distorted as those of Nazi Germany. When the only way you can "defend yourself" against another country's "threat" is to go to the other side of the world to fight it, because it lacks the logistical capability to project military force more than a few hundred miles outside its own borders — and the main "threat" is its ability to fight back when you attack it — you know something's pretty messed up.
Kevin Carson is a contemporary mutualist author and individualist anarchist whose written work includes Studies in Mutualist Political Economy, Organization Theory: A Libertarian Perspective, and The Homebrew Industrial Revolution: A Low-Overhead Manifesto, all of which are freely available online.


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Now we'll look at using monads to do intensional function application. This is just another application of the Reader monad, not a new monad. In Shan (2001) Monads for natural language semantics, Ken shows that making expressions sensitive to the world of evaluation is conceptually the same thing as making use of the Reader monad. This technique was beautifully re-invented by Ben-Avi and Winter (2007) in their paper A modular approach to intensionality, though without explicitly using monads.
All of the code in the discussion below can be found here: intensionality-monad.ml. To run it, download the file, start OCaml, and say
# #use "intensionality-monad.ml";;
Note the extra #
attached to the directive use
First, the familiar linguistic problem:
Bill left.
Cam left.
Ann believes [Bill left].
Ann believes [Cam left].
We want an analysis on which the first three sentences can be true at the same time that the last sentence is false. If sentences denoted simple truth values or booleans, we have a problem: if the sentences Bill left and Cam left are both true, they denote the same object, and Ann's beliefs can't distinguish between them.
The traditional solution to the problem sketched above is to allow
sentences to denote a function from worlds to truth values, what
Montague called an intension. So if s
is the type of possible
worlds, we have the following situation:
Extensional types Intensional types Examples ------------------------------------------------------------------- S t s->t John left DP e s->e John VP e->t (s->e)->s->t left Vt e->e->t (s->e)->(s->e)->s->t saw Vs t->e->t (s->t)->(s->e)->s->t thought
This system is modeled on the way Montague arranged his grammar. There are significant simplifications: for instance, determiner phrases are thought of as corresponding to individuals rather than to generalized quantifiers.
The main difference between the intensional types and the extensional types is that in the intensional types, the arguments are functions from worlds to extensions: intransitive verb phrases like "left" now take so-called "individual concepts" as arguments (type s->e) rather than plain individuals (type e), and attitude verbs like "think" now take propositions (type s->t) rather than truth values (type t). In addition, the result of each predicate is an intension. This expresses the fact that the set of people who left in one world may be different than the set of people who left in a different world. (Normally, the dependence of the extension of a predicate to the world of evaluation is hidden inside of an evaluation coordinate, or built into the the lexical meaning function, but we've made it explicit here in the way that the intensionality monad makes most natural.)
The intensional types are more complicated than the extensional types. Wouldn't it be nice to make the complicated types available for those expressions like attitude verbs that need to worry about intensions, and keep the rest of the grammar as extensional as possible? This desire is parallel to our earlier desire to limit the concern about division by zero to the division function, and let the other functions, like addition or multiplication, ignore division-by-zero problems as much as possible.
So here's what we do:
In OCaml, we'll use integers to model possible worlds. Characters (characters in the computational sense, i.e., letters like 'a'
and 'b'
, not Kaplanian characters) will model individuals, and OCaml booleans will serve for truth values:
type s = int;;
type e = char;;
type t = bool;;
let ann = 'a';;
let bill = 'b';;
let cam = 'c';;
let left1 (x:e) = true;;
let saw1 (x:e) (y:e) = y < x;;
left1 ann;; (* true *)
saw1 bill ann;; (* true *)
saw1 ann bill;; (* false *)
So here's our extensional system: everyone left, including Ann;
and Ann saw Bill (saw1 bill ann
), but Bill didn't see Ann. (Note that the word
order we're using is VOS, verb-object-subject.)
Now we add intensions. Because different people leave in different worlds, the meaning of leave must depend on the world in which it is being evaluated:
let left (x:e) (w:s) = match (x, w) with ('c', 2) -> false | _ -> true;;
left ann 1;; (* true: Ann left in world 1 *)
left cam 2;; (* false: Cam didn't leave in world 2 *)
This new definition says that everyone always left, except that in world 2, Cam didn't leave.
Note that although this general left is sensitive to world of
evaluation, it does not have the fully intensionalized type given in
the chart above, which was (s->e)->s->t
. This is because
left does not exploit the additional resolving power provided by
making the subject an individual concept. In semantics jargon, we say
that leave is extensional with respect to its first argument.
Therefore we will adopt the general strategy of defining predicates in a way that they take arguments of the lowest type that will allow us to make all the distinctions the predicate requires. When it comes time to combine this predicate with monadic arguments, we'll have to make use of various lifting predicates.
Likewise, although see depends on the world of evaluation, it is extensional in both of its syntactic arguments:
let saw x y w = (w < 2) && (y < x);;
saw bill ann 1;; (* true: Ann saw Bill in world 1 *)
saw bill ann 2;; (* false: no one saw anyone in world 2 *)
This (again, partially) intensionalized version of see coincides
with the saw1
function we defined above for world 1; in world 2, no
one saw anyone.
Just to keep things straight, let's review the facts:
World 1: Everyone left. Ann saw Bill, Ann saw Cam, Bill saw Cam, no one else saw anyone. World 2: Ann left, Bill left, Cam didn't leave. No one saw anyone.
Now we are ready for the intensionality monad:
type 'a intension = s -> 'a;; let unit x = fun (w:s) -> x;; (* as before, bind can be written more compactly, but having it spelled out like this will be useful down the road *) let bind u f = fun (w:s) -> let a = u w in let u' = f a in u' w;;
Then the individual concept unit ann
is a rigid designator: a
constant function from worlds to individuals that returns 'a'
matter which world is used as an argument. This is a typical kind of
thing for a monad unit to do.
Then combining a predicate like left which is extensional in its
subject argument with an intensional subject like unit ann
is simply bind
in action:
bind (unit ann) left 1;; (* true: Ann left in world 1 *)
bind (unit cam) left 2;; (* false: Cam didn't leave in world 2 *)
As usual, bind takes a monad box containing Ann, extracts Ann, and
feeds her to the extensional left. In linguistic terms, we take the
individual concept unit ann
, apply it to the world of evaluation in
order to get hold of an individual ('a'
), then feed that individual
to the extensional predicate left.
We can arrange for a transitive verb that is extensional in both of its arguments to take intensional arguments:
let lift2' f u v = bind u (fun x -> bind v (fun y -> f x y));;
This is almost the same lift2
predicate we defined in order to allow
addition in our division monad example. The difference is that this
variant operates on verb meanings that take extensional arguments but
returns an intensional result. Thus the original lift2
has unit (f x y)
where we have just f x y
The use of bind
here to combine left with an individual concept,
and the use of lift2'
to combine see with two intensional
arguments closely parallels the two of Montague's meaning postulates
(in PTQ) that express the relationship between extensional verbs and
their uses in intensional contexts.
lift2' saw (unit bill) (unit ann) 1;; (* true *) lift2' saw (unit bill) (unit ann) 2;; (* false *)
Ann did see bill in world 1, but Ann didn't see Bill in world 2.
Finally, we can define our intensional verb thinks. Think is intensional with respect to its sentential complement, though still extensional with respect to its subject. (As Montague noticed, almost all verbs in English are extensional with respect to their subject; a possible exception is "appear".)
let thinks (p:s->t) (x:e) (w:s) =
match (x, p 2) with ('a', false) -> false | _ -> p w;;
Ann disbelieves any proposition that is false in world 2. Apparently, she firmly believes we're in world 2. Everyone else believes a proposition iff that proposition is true in the world of evaluation.
bind (unit ann) (thinks (bind (unit bill) left)) 1;;
So in world 1, Ann thinks that Bill left (because in world 2, Bill did leave).
bind (unit ann) (thinks (bind (unit cam) left)) 1;;
But in world 1, Ann doesn't believe that Cam left (even though he
did leave in world 1: bind (unit cam) left 1 == true
). Ann's thoughts are hung up on
what is happening in world 2, where Cam doesn't leave.
Small project: add intersective ("red") and non-intersective adjectives ("good") to the fragment. The intersective adjectives will be extensional with respect to the nominal they combine with (using bind), and the non-intersective adjectives will take intensional arguments.


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In America, everyone has a right to be and to be a part of, because every American matters, at least in theory—whether glorified or vilified—we all have civil rights—with each person respectfully deserving a place to express and be who they truly are, even if that place is in an asylum for sociopathic liars and the criminally insane.
Think: Condoleezza Rice, James Clapper, Donald Rumsfeld, George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Henry Paulson, and a growing list of others whose heinous transgressions are well documented and on the public record, including Barack Obama.
It is what it is, so why then deny what is—covering up and keeping secret the unethical and unlawful actions of certain leaders, because of some superficial affinity—doing so with the rationalization to oneself that it benefits the nation to hide the truth in certain circumstance?
This rhetorical question can be asked particularly to those who brazenly denounced Bush/Cheney, including, of course, an overwhelming majority of African-Americans and their White liberal allies who, notwithstanding, continue to ignore, minimize, deny or otherwise justify and explain away the same deceit and criminality of President Obama and his accomplices in the judiciary, congress, military and corporate worlds—a conspiracy of power brokers President Eisenhower gave nomenclature the military industrialist complex some 50+ years ago.
Fast forward to just 6 years ago, when this nation had a most formidable anti-war movement; providing plenty of resistance to the military industrialist complex. Yet, when was the last time a major anti-war protest surrounded and flooded the streets of Washington D.C.?
The wars and occupations that were happening then continue now, but what happened to the movement. Where did it go?
Code Pink's Medea Benjamin knows why and when things changed, telling journalist Paul Jay in a Real News podcast that "Obama sucked the steam out of the anti-war movement."
Benjamin is author of the book, Drone Warfare: Killing by Remote Control, and here's some excerpts of what she said in the podcast with Jay:
And so the steam was just taken out of the whole movement… there were eight times, during the Bush administration, that we got over 100,000 people…[w]hen Obama started to gain steam as a candidate, those started fizzling out. And when he won the election, we had half the numbers of people we had before on our mailing list. And most of the groups started to disintegrate.
I drank the Kool-Aid myself, in the sense that I voted for Obama the first time around…I drank the Kool-Aid in that I was very, very anxious to vote for somebody who was going to win and have somebody who was going to be an alternative to those eight horrible years of Bush.
[I]n the first years of Obama, people got very angry at us and say, how could you be criticizing Obama? How could you be protesting what Obama's doing?
And then, over the years, we've started to grow again, because people have seen that Obama is just continuing so many of the policies of the Bush administration.
And sure there are people who–lots of people who will continue to defend Obama's foreign policy and try to make it as very differentiated from the Bush years, but we don't do that.
But we certainly and unfortunately can't get tens of thousands of people out anymore. We're lucky if we can get 1,000 people out.
Another cruel Obama irony to observe is the current excitement and clamor to raise the minimum [slave] wage to $10 an hour, when according to economist and Massachusetts senator, Elizabeth Warren, it should actually be more than twice that; adjusted for inflation.
Obama is attempting to hack away at Social Security. And let's not forget that Obama continues to operate that concentration camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Who really knows the depth of all the horror happening in our names in that evil place, but one thing known for sure is that Obama could close that antithetical monstrosity-of-democracy any time he wants with the stroke of a pen. Yet, he has not.
Slavery, torture and concentration camps were bad for Blacks and Jews, but apparently it's good for plenty of Arab men.
And oh yes, let's not forget that the highest ranking officials of the Bush administration continue to roam free, when all the world knows of the tyranny let loose by that cabal of despotic war criminals.
Obama could do something about that, too, but he has not. And he has not, because his supporters have not forced him to.
Is it because Obama supporters are so committed to political correctness and within a framework of arrogant ignorance delude themselves with a perverse sense of righteousness and rectification that further cripples our ailing democracy and renders truth absolutely obsolete?
Is it because the possibility of anything better cannot be seen? And when one sees the criminality of Donald Rumsfeld and Karl Rove, but denies that same criminality carried out by Obama and his cronies: who's the real hypocrite?
It is the same smug miserable pride as the Bush/Cheney crew held high, and in co-opting that zombie consciousness the Obamaphiles have thus chosen an already decayed and debunked path of blind allegiance, which now threatens to totally deadened said supporters ability to imagine or see anything else other than the disastrous policies of the criminal elite who rule from the foul sewers of their sick minds, and channel robustly through their current chief spokesperson, Barack Obama, who reliably and so expertly delivers the most nauseating socio-economic poisons; using his own hand-crafted intoxicating brew of soul numbing oration to keep his flock of perpetually awe-struck worshipers in submission.
What's it all for: to protect Obama, or to protect a collective apathy; false cheerfulness and depressing acceptance of banality that attempts to conceal a desperation so clutching one dare not mention it out loud? Though when Obama gloats that he's "really good at killing people," should there be any doubt left as to who this man really is?
Fortunately the proverbial cat hasn't gotten everyone's tongue, with then National Security correspondent for The Nation magazine, Jeremy Scahill, who now reports for First Look Media, saying that Obama will "go down in history as the president who legitimized and systematized a process by which the United States asserts the right to conduct assassination operations around the world."
Obama's way of doing things has manifested a human rights death machine and soul-sucking, corporate gravy train that must be stopped. And in spite of any implied conventional wisdom, Obama is not the fulfilled promise of a better future for Blacks or anyone else, except those most depraved and spiritually decayed. He's a horrific lark, an imperialistic liar, a hegemonic murderer, a demonic Trojan horse, a grand deceiver, a wretched curse; an unscrupulous smooth operator with no intention of ever giving one rat's ass about you and I, because among so many other corrupt Bush/Reagan/Cheney ideals he's so artfully enshrined, the man holds his own "divine right" above and beyond the core values of democracy and the very people he was elected to serve.
With the civil rights movement in the rather recent past, uplifting the poor and disenfranchised through non-violent social change was the most revered concept for African Americans and white liberals, alike. Where did that notion go, and how wise is it to continue squandering the immeasurable power of speaking truth to power—denying one's individual and collective power in order to prop up the Obama socio-political illusion?
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text:
wfedstaff | June 4, 2015 12:39 pm
This story has been updated from its original version.
When less than half of your employees say they'd recommend your agency as a great place to work, you have a problem that's not easy to fix.
But faced with poor ratings year after year, the Broadcasting Board of Governors, which runs Voice of America, Radio Free Europe and other international broadcasting, decided to do something about it. Their efforts paid off in this year's employee viewpoint survey, officials said.
The survey, conducted by the Office of Personnel Management, named the agency one of the two most improved, based on employee ratings of leadership, work culture and talent management.
Join us Feb. 22 at 2 p.m. EST for a discussion with agency and industry leaders on how data, AI/ML and good partnerships can help create better fraud prevention policies and investigations, sponsored by Optum Serve. | CPE eligible
It shared that title with OPM, but the BBG's turnaround was more dramatic. OPM ranked in the middle of the pack in the 2010 "Best Places to Work in the Federal Government," which the Partnership for Public Service compiles based on the government's Employee Viewpoint Survey.
The Broadcasting Board of Governors, however, was third from the bottom in last year's list of small agencies.
"In the case of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, managers saw the world significantly differently than nonmanagers," said John Palguta, vice president for policy and research at the Partnership for Public Service. "In that instance, you have to get together and say, 'I think things are great. You obviously don't. We can't both be right, so let's try to reconcile our views and work towards getting better.'"
Agencies that move up in the rankings follow a tried-and-true pattern, he said.
"The process is clear: It's identifying problems, developing solutions, implementing those solutions, evaluating those results and looking for continual improvement," he said.
That's exactly what the Broadcasting Board of Governors did after its poor showing in 2010.
Kate Neeper, an analyst in the office of the director of the International Broadcasting Bureau, said managers appealed to employees for help.
"It's not just that management is going to read the results and decide what to do about it," she said. "We need to get employees' responses and the union's responses."
Read more: All News
She conducted focus groups to dig into survey responses that managers didn't understand.
For example, the agency ranked low on safety. Neeper said by talking with employees, leaders realized that staff, who run global information programs 24/7, were concerned about coming into the office when it's dark outside. The agency held sessions to discuss safety tips.
While it had cut funding for training in the past due to budget constraints, the agency doubled training money in hopes that it would boost employees' morale along with their skills.
"It's not a luxury or just a nice to do thing. It's absolutely essential to our success," said Jack Welch, an adviser to the director of the IBB. "If you want to attract or retain people, you need to train them so they believe they're getting world-class training and experience."
The agency also grappled with a governmentwide problem: many employees felt that jobs well done went unrecognized and unrewarded, while supervisors didn't deal with poor performers.
The Broadcasting Board of Governors formed a task force of union representatives and managers to recommend solutions.
"We brought back the medal awards programs, where employees were able to nominate one another and select each other for this big award," said Neeper. "It really sends the message that we're listening. We hear you. And we want to do the right thing to solve these issues with you."
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The problem of poor performers may be harder to solve. The 2011 Employee Viewpoint Survey results suggest that most federal workers doubt their supervisors know how to deal with poor performers.
The task force is looking at ways supervisors can let employees know, "What is it that you need to do for us to be successful as an organization, and then provide feedback throughout the year about how well you're doing and not letting problems fester as you move on," said Welch.
The agency has started an ombudsman program to address issues before they blow up into problems that affect more than the employee and supervisor in question, he said.
Next, he said, the agency is tackling its low numbers on the survey questions pertaining to wellness at work.
The 2011 "most improved" standing indicates workers are happier. But that progress may not be enough to move the agency up on the list of Best Places to Work in Government.
"Regardless, the employees of the Broadcasting Board of Governors should feel good about the fact that in 2011, despite everything else going on, all the external negatives, they managed to improve their employee engagement," said Palguta.
The Partnership for Public Service will publish its list of the best agencies at which to work next month.
OPM survey shows feds upbeat despite challenges
Fed satisfaction survey reveals vast amount of info
Communication, leadership make the best agencies run
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"I Would Like All Religions to Be Treated the Same"
Istanbul is constantly changing. Do you like this city?
Mesrob II: The Kumkapi quarter, where the Patriarchate is situated, has changed a great deal. A lot of migrants from south-east Anatolia came and settled here. Kumkapi is no longer the way it once was, but I can't do without Istanbul. No matter where I've been, I always wanted to come back.
Socio-culturally speaking, do you believe that in Istanbul there has been a negative development over the past ten years?
Mesrob II: It is no longer as it once was. I grew up in Taksim. In our mahalle (quarter) all minorities – Jews, Greeks, Armenians, Turks – all lived together peacefully. They always used to greet each other cordially; they celebrated feast days together, too. In that sense there has been what you could call a deterioration.
What is the status of the Armenian Patriarchate in Istanbul among the Orthodox churches of the world?
Mesrob II: There are 23 patriarchates throughout the world and we are one of them. The Armenian Patriarch in Istanbul is a recognized patriarch throughout the world, as well as in the various denominations.
What do you, as a theologian, think of political Islam? Can there be such a thing as a moderate Islam?
Mesrob II: The substance of the religion cannot change. It is simply what it is. There is no moderate or immoderate Islam. But when one tries to politicise religion, one causes it to degenerate. It becomes arrogant and starts to oppress people. The dominant religion and its symbols exercise power over other faiths.
Is Islam the only religion that is politicised?
Mesrob II: In the past, Christianity too was politicised. The Crusades are an example of this. So Christianity too does not have a 'spotless' past.
Are there major differences between the great Abrahamic religions, the 'religions of the book'?
Mesrob II: In essence there are no major differences between the three great religions. Their main teachings are also not so very different from one another.
Do problems only arise because of different interpretations?
Mesrob II: When one politicises religion, it creates problems. Not attempting dialogue with others also creates problems.
Is there freedom of religion and freedom of worship in Turkey?
Mesrob II: We can use our places of worship when and however we want. Nobody dictates to us. In this context we have our freedom.
What has changed since the AKP has been in government?
Mesrob II: As I keep saying, I notice a deterioration. Increasingly, there is a wave of intolerance spreading across Turkey. Take for example the murders of people of different faiths or opinions, such as the attack in Malatya, or the murders of Hrant Dink and Father Santoro. All these things are an indication of the current trend of intolerance in Turkey. I always say that "that is not Turkey".
Some people are worried about the future of laicism. Are you also worried?
Mesrob II: Nobody can abolish laicism in Turkey. Even if they were to dare to try, I don't believe they would succeed. Laicism has its roots in [the] Turkey [of Atatürk]. I don't believe that some political party is able to abolish it. We grow up with the teachings of laicism. The state is not permitted to get involved in religious affairs, and it is supposed to take the same position with regard to all faiths.
But to what extent is this actually practised? There is a ministry for religious affairs, which means that the state does in fact have a particular stance.
So there is in fact an official religion: Islam…?
Mesrob II: There is indeed a ministry for it, and all Islamic clerics are financed by this ministry. Other religious communities, on the other hand, do not receive any support. I wish there were an institution that treated all religions in the same way.
The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate is the Ecumenical Patriarchate for the Orthodox churches. Is the Armenian Church one of them?
Mesrob II: We belong to the Eastern Oriental Orthodox Churches. For us, the Fener Patriarch (Bartholomew I) is not ecumenical. Our churches do not require anything like this; we are a non-autocephalous church.
What differences are there between the Armenian and the Greek Orthodox churches?
Mesrob II: We belong to the Eastern Oriental churches. The Assyrian, Ethiopian, Indian, Coptic and Armenian Churches are all part of the same family. Historically, these churches tried to defend themselves against Byzantine imperialism. They retained their individual characteristics. Among them, the Armenian Church was founded in 301 A.D., which is to say: much earlier than Byzantium.
You live in a Muslim society. Do you have any problems in your dialogue with the people?
Mesrob II: No, neither Armenians nor Assyrians have any problems with the Turkish population. They are fully integrated into each other. Armenians live alongside Turks, so they do not have any communication problems.
In the recent attacks on Christians, it is noticeable that the perpetrators are only able to put forward primitive and unfounded arguments in justification of their deeds. Can it be said that the Turkish educational system lacks some essential elements that could help to improve understanding on both sides?
Mesrob II: Of course it is a result of deficient education. Anyone who knows Istanbul also knows its history, and knows that minorities are part of the city. On the other hand, schoolbooks as well as religious books repeatedly use inflammatory terms and appellations for non-Muslims, such as 'unbelievers', or 'heathens'. Terms like these are naturally very unpleasant.
Is it also in order to repair these educational deficits that you want a chair at Istanbul University?
Mesrob II: Yes, but I want it for others too, not only for myself. A chair like that should appeal to all the other faiths. There is an Islamic theological faculty. That's where I wanted to have a chair. That way all those who want to inform themselves about other religions could acquire the relevant knowledge. The chair would then be a university one and also be at the disposal of the Turkish Muslim students. I imagined a universal chair, open to all.
Will you be able to implement this plan?
Mesrob II: I must, because we need priests and language teachers for our schools. For that, we need a Chair of Theology and Linguistics.
What do you think of the proposal for a seminary in Heybeliada? This is something the Greek Patriarchate wants.
Mesrob II: My offer also includes Heybeliada; Heybeliada can be part of the university chair as well.
Why is something like this not accepted in Turkey?
Mesrob II: That is something I cannot understand.
Is it a case of discrimination against minorities?
Mesrob II: There was a draft law about this that was put before parliament by the minorities' foundations. A short time ago it was rejected by the former President Ahmet Necdet Sezer. In the official rejection, this was justified as follows: "If minorities are given this many rights, they will want to have even more."
One is compelled to think that people in Turkey see all minorities as potential enemies. "They could stab us in the back at any time." There is a phobia about minorities in Turkey. The former president's rejection of the bill strengthens this phobia. My feeling is that people treat minorities as 'internal enemies'.
What are the concerns of the Armenian community in Turkey?
Mesrob II: The thing that disturbs us most is the way the diaspora deals with the subject of 'genocide'. It puts a great strain on our relations with Turkey. Neither Armenia nor Turkey are going to alter their geographic positions. Both countries insist on their own standpoint. These tense relations are disturbing for us.
Of course Armenia should recognise Turkey's borders. That is very important. And the diaspora should at last understand that the form of the current genocide discussion is damaging to Turkish-Armenian relations.
Who judges whether it was, from a historical point of view, a question of deportation or genocide?
Mesrob II: Prime Minister Erdogan had a suggestion about this. Armenian, Turkish, and neutral historians should sit down together and study the facts in detail. I thought this was a very positive attitude. But the Armenian side rejected it, saying that there was nothing to discuss.
If we are speaking in terms of scholarship, we must be prepared and able to speak about everything. In this sense I think that that Armenian side is inflexible.
What is your assessment of Turkey's 'European journey'?
Mesrob II: Integration into Europe is very important for us. I believe very strongly that through this all the laws in Turkey will be revised, and that in doing so Turkey will become a truly democratic country. For this reason I am in favour of membership. I find the negative attitude of states such as France, and also Germany, very surprising. I think they need Turkey. Particularly as a strong military partner.
Do you believe that Turkey can become a member of the EU in the foreseeable future?
Mesrob II: Not in the immediate future – but one day. If Turkey doesn't throw in the towel…
Interview: Hülya Sancak
Translated from the German by Charlotte Collins
© Qantara.de 2007
The Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul
Limited Religious Freedom in Turkey
The situation for the Ecumenical Patriarch in Turkey, the spiritual leader of all Orthodox Christians, is difficult. The very existence of the Patriarchate is threatened by a law on private schools that was recently passed by the parliament in Ankara. Cyrill Stieger reports
Christians in Turkey
The Turks' Fear Fear of the Missionary Menace
Despite Turkey's remarkable reforms in the wake of the country's rapprochement to Europe, Turks' fear of Christians is deep-rooted and goes back to WW I history. Susanne Güsten has this background report
Christians in Turkey
Wider Pattern of Discrimination
The European Union is expressing growing concern over the treatment of Turkey's Christian minority. A recent EU report on minorities in Turkey raised questions regarding Turkey's treatment of its Christian minority. Dorian Jones reports


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My analysis is that most faith based systems depend upon an absolute moral order. The declaration of things as absolutely evil or absolutely good, as sin or virtue, puts liberalism into a horrible position because it's founded on no judgment on anything. As a result, any faith that is seriously practiced or understood is a challenge to the politics that depend on constituencies that would rather not be told that their choices are bad and their lives are not virtuous. — Hugh Hewitt
Most liberals in this country tend to treat Christians one of two ways: either with open, sniggering contempt or if they think they need their votes, they tend to switch over to hamhanded and grotesque pandering. That's not to say that there aren't liberal Christians, there are plenty of them, but they've just become accustomed to being treated by their fellow liberals like the sort of refuse you scrape off your shoes after a long walk through a cow pasture. — John Hawkins
Liberalism is so unrelentingly hostile to Christianity that it's virtually impossible to be both a devout Christian and a devout liberal at the same time. To be a liberal Christian means you either have to completely gut your religious beliefs to make them compatible with your political inclinations or alternately, you have to spend your days cowering with your eyes down while your fellow liberals demean, smear, and mock everything you should hold dear.
To be a liberal Christian is to regularly read comments from your comrades in arms like these from Amanda Marcotte, who later got a job with John Edwards' presidential campaign despite her well known hostility to Christianity.
Q: What if Mary had taken Plan B after the Lord filled her with his hot, white, sticky Holy Spirit?A: You'd have to justify your misogyny with another ancient mythology.
It means listening to blithering idiots like Kathy Griffin scream,
A lot of people come up here and thank Jesus for this award. I want you to know that no one had less to do with this award than Jesus. Suck it, Jesus, this award is my god now!
It means reading about other liberals freaking out about someone as non-political as Tim Tebow because he's managed to shine a positive light on Christianity.
If Tebow wins the Super Bowl, against all odds, it will buoy his faithful, and emboldened faithful can do insane things, like burning mosques, bashing gays and indiscriminately banishing immigrants. While America has become more inclusive since Jerry Falwell's first political forays, a Tebow triumph could set those efforts back considerably.
Even though an amazing movie like The Passion of the Christ has made more than $600,000 million and a pro-Christian action flick like The Book of Eli can crack $150 million, liberal entertainers in the music industry and Hollywood obsessively attack Christianity and put out 10 pieces of garbage like Dogma and Jesus Camp for every movie that treats Christianity respectfully. Nicki Minaj even did an elaborate, blasphemous performance mocking the Catholic Church at the Grammys this year. That's how comfortable Hollywood has become with hating Christians.
There's a reason they do that: Christianity, with its absolute moral order, is a dire threat to liberalism. If you're a Christian with staunch morals who's not in favor of abortion, gay marriage, teaching little kids about fisting or banning schools from mentioning Christ over Christmas, you're in conflict with liberalism. If liberals started living up to the religious beliefs they claim to have, then they'd upset the general philosophy of the Democratic Party, which says that anything that will add more votes must not just be tolerated, but enthusiastically sanctioned. In the end, liberalism always trumps Christianity for Democrats. That's why you saw "pro-life" Dems like Bart Stupak throw the babies under the bus when push came to shove over Obamacare.
This has guided the liberal approach to Christianity. Liberals believe Christians should be mocked, impugned, and driven from the public square at every opportunity, except when there's an election coming up. Then, Democratic candidates engage in pandering that liberals forgive them for, because they know they don't really believe it. For example, many people marvel at how Barack Obama largely escaped criticism from the Left on gay marriage even though he has the exact same public stance on marriage that most Republicans do: that it should be between a man and a woman. That's easy to explain: Barack Obama is lying and liberals accept that's something they have to do to get elected. This is the same guy who criticized people forbitterly clinging to guns or religion, which is funny if you think about it, because isn't that supposed to be HIS religion, too? Shouldn't a real Christian WANT other Christians to "cling" to their religion?
The Left's laughably phony outreach to Christians at election time never matches up to how they behave day-to-day. Barack Obama, who won the Catholic vote by 9 points in 2008, just violated the "free exercise clause" in the First Amendment by demanding that Catholic hospitals provide free birth control and abortion-inducing drugs, even though that clearly violates their religious beliefs. Literally every Catholic bishop in America has spoken out against the policy, but of course, the Democratic Party is unmoved.
This should shock no one who has seen the Left enthusiastically support government sponsored anti-Christian art, sue Christians who want to mention Christ in schools or courthouses, and even just fight to remove the World Trade Center Cross from the National September 11th Memorial and Museum.
The Left has long justified this sort of behavior with the First Amendment, which is utterly bizarre because it's directly contrary to the plain wording of the Amendment.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
There would not be a single solitary Founding Father, including Thomas Jefferson, who would agree with the false interpretation of the First Amendment that the anti-Christian Left has foisted on this country by deliberately misinterpreting Thomas Jefferson's letter to the Danbury Baptists. Even if Jefferson's letter were something other than a less eloquently worded attempt to rephrase the First Amendment (and that's all it is), his letter certainly wouldn't trump the Constitution. Moreover, in Jefferson's day, states had official religions, the Bible was taught in public schools, and Jefferson himself attended the regularly scheduled worship services on Sundays in the House of Representatives. If the Founding Fathers didn't find any of those things to be in conflict with the First Amendment, then certainly having the 10 Commandments on a courthouse wall or kids singing Away in a Manager at Christmas time shouldn't be a problem. To turn the First Amendment on its head to use as a bludgeon against the religious freedom of Christians is a despicable act.
However, their attempt to subvert Christianity from within may be worse. When the Left infects Christian churches with Black Liberation theology, claims Christianity is all about "social justice," or tries to make Jesus into some kind of socialist who demands that you support the government instead of taking personal responsibility, the Left is acting as a 5th column within the Christian Church.
No ideology or political party has a monopoly on God and were Jesus to come back tomorrow, I'm sure that all of us, whatever our beliefs may be, would fall well short of the perfect standard he'd set. That being said, it's time for the Left to stop having it both ways. You can't endlessly spew hatred at Christians, sneer at people who take the Bible seriously and then claim to be friendly to people of faith. You can't keep cheering on people like Mike Malloy....
Their God … keeps smashing them into little grease spots on the pavement in Alabama, and Mississippi, and Arkansas, and Georgia, and Oklahoma. You know, the Bible belt, where [in a mocking voice] they ain't gonna let no goddamned science get in the way, it says in the Bible, blah blah blah blah blah. So, according to their way of thinking, God with his omnipotent thumb reaches down here and so far tonight has smashed about 20 people into a grease spot on highway 12, or whatever the hell highway they live next to.
...and Bill Maher...
You're allowed to have your opinion that a Palestinian 2000 years ago walked on water and did magic tricks and he was really still his own father and all that stuff. That's fine. You can have whatever opinion you want, and the fact that a billion other people believe it gives you a lot of strength and credence. But I also have the opinion that that's ridiculous, that it's anachronistic, this is the 21st century.
... and claim you're good Christians, too. Liberalism is engaging in a war against Christianity and it's time for people to call it what it is and start picking sides.


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Main Page - Current Development - Developer FAQ - Tools - Related Projects - Project Ideas - Summer Projects
Installation - Troubleshooting - User FAQ - HOWTOs - Samples - Models - Education - Contributed Code - Papers
Return to GSoC 2015 Accepted Projects page.
- 1 Carrier Aggregation support for the LTE module
- 2 Plan
- 3 Weekly Progress
- 3.1 Week 1 (May 25, 2015 - May 31, 2015)
- 3.2 Week 2 (June 01, 2015 - June 07, 2015)
- 3.3 Week 3 (June 08, 2015 - June 14, 2015)
- 3.4 Week 4/5 (June 15, 2015 - June 28, 2015)
- 3.5 Week 6 (June 29, 2015 - July 5, 2015)
- 3.6 Week 7 (July 6, 2015 - July 12, 2015)
- 3.7 Week 8 (July 13, 2015 - July 19, 2015)
- 3.8 Week 9 (July 20, 2015 - July 26, 2015)
- 3.9 Week 10 (July 27, 2015 - August 2, 2015)
- 3.10 Week 11 (August 2, 2015 - August 9, 2015)
- 3.11 Week 12/13 (August 10, 2015 - August 21, 2015)
- 4 Midterm review
- 5 FinalTerm review
- 6 Some References
Carrier Aggregation support for the LTE module
Student: Danilo Abrignani
Mentors: Marco Miozzo Nicola Baldo
- Abstract: 3GPP standardizes, in release R10, the Carrier Aggregation (CA) technology. This consists of the possibility, for a single user equipment (UE), to aggregate Radio Resources belonging to different carriers, in order to have more bandwidth available, and a higher potential throughput. The idea is to improve the current LENA implementation, with CA functionalities, by implementing a sort of "proxy" between the RLC/RRC layer and MAC/Scheduler layers, associated to the multiple carriers.
- Code: http://code.nsnam.org/daniloa/ns-3-dev-lte-ca/
- About me: I'm a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Bologna, Italy. My research interests are in wireless sensor network and mobile network simulation. Something more about me on my Linkedin page.
- 1st Week:
* Implementation of RRC messages for Carrier Aggregation support * Writing design documentation
- 2nd - 4th Weeks:
* Implementation of the LTE-A helper, activation of different carriers and synchronization procedure. * Writing test code and debugging. * Writing design documentation
- 5th - 6th Weeks:
* Write test documentation, submit code for review, consolidate code and documentation.
- 7th -8th Weeks:
* Start writing the CA-Mac module, design documentation. * Write test and debugging, writing test documentation, submit code for review.
- 9th - 10th Weeks:"'
* Define a basic algorithm that takes into account QoS indicators. Write design documentation * Writing test application and debugging. Submit code for review. Update code and documentation.
- 11th - 12th Weeks:
* Unified LTE-A and LTE helpers. * Write test applications, update documentation and code. * Possible improvements.
Weekly Progress
Week 1 (May 25, 2015 - May 31, 2015)
First week of coding phase has delivered the following:
- Implementation of RRC messages for Carrier Aggregation support
- Implementation of CcsAlgorithm abstract class which will be base class for Carrier Component Selection (CCS) algorithms
- Implementation of SAPs
- LteHelper was updated to install CCS entity and SAPs during setting up EnbNetDevice. However, currently no ccs algorithm is implementing.
Week 2 (June 01, 2015 - June 07, 2015)
In summary, this week I delivered the following:
- Minor error fix on RRC SAP
- ASN1 - RRC coding implemented:
- Basically I implemented the serialize and deserialize method for coding the new fields in the rrcConfigurationReconfiguration message.
- Minor change in ASN1 Header, i.e. adding a function template in order to match a new bit mask, the latter it is used to enable or disable optional fields in RRC headers.
- Tested carriers aggregation CA enable procedure (messages exchange) when RrcIdeal is false.
Week 3 (June 08, 2015 - June 14, 2015)
I planned to delivered during the third week the following: implementation of a second PHY object that is related to the second carrier component (SCC), and modify accordingly the RRC SAP and LteHelper to handle the SCC.
However, it wasn't possible. The main problem was that I tried to mantain the same code structure used in the current version of the simulator. The drawback is that currently the RRC and PHY attributes are set using the LteHelper on the LteNetDevice (both for Enb and for Ue) and than passed as attribute for the others classes.
Moreover, now attributes are basically integer or boolean variable, in the 'CA version' most of them should be changed in vector, e.g. ulBandwidth now is integer, it has to became a vector where each element is related to a carrier component. So, the first idea was to use std::vector, this generate a problem, in fact NS3 do not allow to pass has Attribute a std::vector. The work around is to create a method for each attribute that we want to set, e.g. SetUlBandwidth (std::vector bwList), but this method has to be called explicit by user.
I discussed with my mentors about the possibile strategies to take. The results, meaning the plan for the 4th week (and further), is as follow:
- define a new class -- ComponentCarrier --> this object will contain all the attribute of a single carrier component, e.g. ul/dlBandwidth, ul/dlFrequencies
- modify LteNetDevice accordingly --> in the new the class will contain a map of ComponentCarrier objects
- since ComponentCarrier is an ns3 Object, it is possible to pass this using the Attribute system
- this solution could make easier the implementation of traces and statistics
- others method will be updated accordingly, e.g. ConfigureCell
- in order to maintain back-compatibility, we decided to leave the current attribute and mask the ComponentCarrier within the LteHelper class for the single carrier simulations
- on the other hand, we propose to implement a new helper, i.e. CccHelper that return a std::map < ns3::ComponentCarrier>, than with a LteHelper method, i.e. SetEnbCcc (std::map <ns3::ComponentCarrier>) we send the Cc Atributes to the LteNetDevice
Week 4/5 (June 15, 2015 - June 28, 2015)
In summary, I delivered the following:
- define a new class -- ComponentCarrier --> this object will contain all the attribute of a single carrier component, e.g. ul/dlBandwidth, ul/dlFrequencies and a pointer to LteEnbPhy
- modify LteNetDevice accordingly --> in the new the class will contain a map of ComponentCarrier objects (see the figures below)
- others method have been updated accordingly, e.g. ConfigureCell
- in order to maintain back-compatibility, I decided to leave the current attribute. Even if the last option seems redundant, it is useful to maintain the full compatibility with the current version of user simulation scripts. Basically, in case that Carrier Aggregation is not enable, the ccHelper is invoked within the LteHelper to create a valid ComponentCarrier Map for both the LteEnbNetDevice and LteUeNetDevice. In this case, the only element in ComponentCarrier Map will inherit all the parameters set on the net device.
- on the other hand, I implemented a new helper, i.e. CcHelper that return a std::map std::map <uint8_t, Ptr<ns3::ComponentCarrier> >, than with a LteHelper method, i.e. SetEnbCcc (std::map <uint8_t, Ptr<ns3::ComponentCarrier> >) we send the Cc Atributes to the LteNetDevice
- moreover, I modify the method LteHelper::InstallSingleUeDevice
- I also added a new class -- ComponentCarrierUe --> the latter, basically replicate the ComponentCarrier class for the UE, the only difference is that in this case the LteEnbPhy is replaced by LteUePhy.
- finally, I fix minor problem, such as changing the path in the physical layer traces to find the new position of the LTeEnbPhy object.
Following the same paradigm of LtePhy/LteEnbPhy/LteUePhy classes, I will reshape the ComponentCarrier class and create: ComponentCarrierUe and ComponentCarrierEnb (both inheriting the ComponentCarrier class)
Suggestions and comments on the proposed scheme are very welcome.
In [3] and [4] you can find two code review request that I published during this first 5 weeks of GSoC. [3] is related to the necessary modification needed at Rrc layer to accomodate the new structures needed to configure the carrier aggregation. Moreover, The ASN1 encoding class was changed accordingly. [4] is related with the new architecture proposed during week 3. Basically, it contains the new classes that I created and the modifications in the LteHelper, Lte[Enb/Ue]NetDevice and few more changes.
During next week, I will consolidate the code, removing redundant part, fixing minor issues and writing some documentation. Moreover, I will reshape the ComponentCarrier class as I wrote above.
In [5], I upload a first draft of the doxygen documentation.
[3] https://codereview.appspot.com/241320043/
[4] https://codereview.appspot.com/249960043/
[5] https://www.nsnam.org/~daniloa/docs/doxygen/
- Error creating thumbnail: Image type not supported
Architecture of LteNetDevice and LtePhy
- Error creating thumbnail: Image type not supported
Sap Connection between each Phy Layer object and the LteEnbRrc
Week 6 (June 29, 2015 - July 5, 2015)
Not so many update this week, I was concentrated more on debugging and documentation. However, in summary, I delivered the following:
- after defined the new class ComponentCarrier, I changed the code accordingly
- now a ComponentCarrierEnb class is used for the LteEnbNetDevice
- and a ComponentCarrierUe class is used for the LteUeNetDevice
- implementing the comments of the reviewer in my code.
As I anticipated before, I was focus more on debugging since some Lte Test crash. For week 7, I'm going to continue in order to solve each problem before move on and adding new code.
Week 7 (July 6, 2015 - July 12, 2015)
Basically in week 7, I solved (finally) some bugs that cause the tests crash.
In the next week, I am going to conclude the control plan connection. I will convert the cMacSap from object to std::vector (one object per carrier component). Then, I tested the code and start to write some documentation. Regarding the documentation, I define the draft for two sequence diagrams:
1. Radio Bearer setup sequence 2. Data Plane: scheduling between the different carriers
1. The Carrier Aggregation is transparent to each Enb Mac layer instance
(one for each CC) and the setup of the Logical Channel is demanded to Rrc
The idea is that a specific object (ComponentCarrierManager, the former
ComponentCarrierSelection) handles the logical channel setup. Basically, it
receives the Ue Measurements and decide when and which logical channel
activate on which Mac instance.
2. By the standard specification RLC layer is not aware if and when the CA is enabled. Here, the idea is to have an object in between the LteEnbRlc and the different Mac instances. Each time a new PDU arrive from the PDCP layer, the LteEnbRlc generate a BufferStatusReport (BSR), the entity between the RLC and the MAC ('CaMac Proxy') will decide how split the BSR between the different MAC instances. When a Mac instance notifies a transmission opportunity the 'CaMac Proxy' forwards the transmission opportunity to RLC layer. The latter builds a SDU and sends to the 'CaMac Proxy', which forward to the right MAC instance.
Week 8 (July 13, 2015 - July 19, 2015)
In week 8, I delivered the follows:
- renaming the ComponentCarrierSelection to LteComponentCarrierManager. This is not a merely renaming, on the opposite, the idea is to merge the former ComponentCarrierSelection and the Ca-Mac proxy following the same principle applied to scheduler, Ffr module and so on.
- Since, each component carrier has his on MAC layer, FFR component and scheduler, I 'moved' these objects from LTeEnbDevice to ComponentCarrier
- Finally, I implemented the new sap for the LteComponentCarrierManager and ran the tests.
The new architecture, both for Ue and Enb are shown in the figures below.
Week 9 (July 20, 2015 - July 26, 2015)
Basically in week 9, I delivered the follows:
- renaming LteComponentCarrierManager to LteEnbComponentCarrierManager
- create a similar object for the Ue, LteUeComponentCarrierManager
- conclude the control plane from the ue side
- create the template classes for LteCcmRrcSap
- prepared the data plane function
- code review request for the entire control plane: https://codereview.appspot.com/250600043/
Week 10 (July 27, 2015 - August 2, 2015)
In week 10, I delivered the follows:
- Duplicated the the template classes for LteCcmRrcSap, now there is a specific implementation for the Ue (LteUeCcmRrcSap)
- after talking with my mentors, we realized that, to handle the carrier aggregation in uplink, a new set of information are needed to exchange between LteEnbCompomponentCarrierManager and the LteEnbMacLayer.
About this last point, I am preparing the new version of the documentation explain the sequence in details.
- Added Sequence Diagram in the repository regarding the Uplink carrier aggregation
- several minor fix and some code was improved
- implemented the data plane
Due to the many changes, the current version of the code doesn't work with the test suite. I start modifying the test suite in order to fit with the new architecture.
Week 11 (August 2, 2015 - August 9, 2015)
Basically in week 11, I planned to deliver the follows:
- modify the test suite to fit with the new architecture
- debug the code
- write documentation
Since I modified some functions adding few more parameters, the test lte-test-entities was crashing due to the number of parameters. For instance, I changed the NotifyTxOpportunity function. The latter in lte-test-entities is called using Simulator::ScheduleWithContext and Simulator::Scheduler. Both functions have defined templates up to 5 input parameter. I just added a template for 6 parameters. In order to achieve this, I modified simulator.h and make-event.h in the core folder. I sent the patch on ns3-dev mailing list.
By next week, I will continue on:
- documents preparation
- debug the code
Week 12/13 (August 10, 2015 - August 21, 2015)
After the implementation of the LteUlCcmRrcSap[User/Provider] between the LteEnbMac of the primary carrier component and the LteEnbComponentCarrierManager, I continued to debug the code, wrote some design documentation and reshape the doxygen. Finally, I posted a code review request: https://codereview.appspot.com/262000043/
Midterm review
Here I want to present the work done until the 4th week for the midterm review.
As general remarks, I'm sorry to be unable to provide a first set of test example in the midterm review.
RRC Messages
The object of this code review request is to introduce in the RRC message structure the new field, added in R10, to support Carrier Aggregation. The main changes are in the RRC Connection Reconfiguration message Consequently, the ASN1 encoding class has to be extended to accomodate the new structures and fields.
ComponentCarrier Object and new proposed architecture
Details about this code review request can be found in the 4th weekly report (see above). Basically, I introduced a new object needed to connect each single carrier component to the LteNetDevice. Then, I modify accordingly the LteHelper and the Lte[Enb/Ue]NetDevice classes.
FinalTerm review
In this section, I sum up the work I have done in these weeks and what (unfortunately) it is still to be done. In total I published 4 code review request:
- RrcConnectionReconfiguration Message - CA support: https://codereview.appspot.com/241320043/
- GSoC 2015 - MidTerm Milestone - Carrier Aggregation: https://codereview.appspot.com/249960043/
- GSoC 2015 - Carrier Aggregation - Control Plane: https://codereview.appspot.com/250600043/
- GSoC 2015 - FinalTerm Milestone - Carrier Aggregation: https://codereview.appspot.com/262000043/
- moreover, I sent a patch for the core model in the mailing list.
Regarding the code structure, I implemented the following:
- extend the Rrc messages structure to fit the new fields to configure the carrier aggregation. Mainly I worked on RrcConnectionReconfiguration message.
- add the ASN1 coding for the new messages format
- implement Carrier Component class and its child for Enb and Ue. More in details, these classes include all the attributes and pointer related to a certain carrier component. Formerly, those attributes were included in Lte[Enb/Ue]Device classes.
- changing the Lte[Enb/Ue]Device and Lte[Enb/Ue]Mac classes accordingly.
- Lte[Enb/Ue]ComponentCarrierManager classes were implemented to act as a "proxy" between upper layer and Mac/Phy layers. However, some minor modifications were needed also on Rlc classes.
- implement Lte[Enb/Ue]CcmRrcSap[User/Provider] to connect the Rrc instance with Lte[Enb/Ue]ComponentCarrierManager
- Lte[Enb/Ue]ComponentCarrierManager were implemented as 'empty box' in the same way of Scheduler at Mac layer, hence the developer can attach the algorithm he preferred.
- NoOpComponentCarrierManager and SimpleUeComponentCarrierManager are examples of possible algorithms. Both send all the data only on primary carrier component even if more than one component carrier is defined. These two algorithms are enabled by default
- installed a new helper, i.e. CcHelper, to create a valid ComponentCarrier Map
- change the LteHelper in order to maintain backwards compatibility with user script.
- Implement LteUlCcmMacSap, to deal with the 'special case' of the uplink buffer status report (explained in the documentation)
Hereafter, the part that is still to be done:
- add one or two specific tests for carrier aggregation
- verify the complete support of the handover algorithm when carrier aggregation is enabled
- provide some code examples
Some References
- LTE-A HetNets using Carrier Aggregation, Nomor whitepaper [1]


text:
Olympic Swimmer Makes Replica Gold Medal for Fallen Rival
When Hungarian swimmer Daniel Gyurta won the gold medal in the 200m breaststroke during the London Olympics it just didn't feel right.
That's because rival and good friend Dale Oen wasn't there to compete against him.
Oen, who had won the 100m breaststroke world championship less than a year earlier, sadly died of a heart attack while training for the Olympics in May.
The 26-year-old Norwegian had suffered from undiagnosed atherosclerotic coronary artery disease — which is extremely rare in a young, active person. He would have been the favorite in the 100m and 200m breast stroke if he had made it to the Olympics.
When South African Cameron van der Burgh won the 100m earlier last week he dedicated his swim to Oen. And then when Gyurta took the 200m he went even further, promising to make a replica of his gold medal and send it to Oen's family.
"I'm sure that he would have won the 100 here in London," Gyurta explained. "This is the least I can do to pay respect to my friend."
The Olympic spirit is strong in this one.


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NUSHIP Adelaide will dock at BAE Systems Williamstown shipyard on the 11th of July following successful initial sea trials and first docking at the RAN base at Garden Island in Sydney.
The sea trials were conducted from 17 to 26 June on the voyage to Sydney and then during the voyage back following the successful docking.
Sea trials are designed to test the ship's systems to ensure that all perform to their capability in a range of scenarios. This first set of trials focused mainly on platform systems, while the next set of trials will focus mainly on combat and communication systems.
NUSHIP Adelaide will remain at Williamstown for some final outfitting and integration activities in preparation for the second set of sea trials which is planned for mid-late August.
BAE Systems Director of Maritime, Bill Saltzer said: "During sea trials, we essentially test the ship and all its systems in the 'at-sea' environment in which it will be expected to operate in the service of the Royal Australian Navy. It is also the first opportunity for the new officers and crew to be engaged in on-board operations following the extensive training program that they undergo at our state-of-the-art training facility in Mascot, NSW. NUSHIP Adelaide performed exceptionally well in the first phase of sea trials. The ship is well ahead of where HMAS Canberra was at the same time in her production schedule, demonstrating again the benefits that come from continuous production."


text:
Video ▶
Who killed Toby's mother? Who hit Alison in the head with the rock the night she went missing? Who is Red Coat? Who killed Bethany? Who is the Black Widow? Why has "A" been targeting the PLLs all this time? After years of torture, Alison, Aria, Emily, Hanna and Spencer finally come face-to-face with their tormentor and learn the story of how and why Charles became "A."
Episode Guide
Season 01
Season 02
Season 03
Season 04
Season 05
Season 06
Season 07


text:
Masterful Pumpkin Carvings by Ray Villafane
Ray Villafane (@ray_villafane) of Villafane Studios is one of our favorite pumpkin artists, because, as these photos show, he's got mad skills! Ray's big in the pumpkin world: You may've seen him in Food Network's Pumpkin Challenge shows on TV. And now, he's joined by his best friend and sculptor Andy Bergholtz, so we're sure to see more spectacular carved pumpkins in the future!
Take a look at the gallery above and don't forget to visit Ray's website and Facebook page for more awesome carved pumpkins: Link
Previously on Neatorama: Ray Villafane
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text:
This article is more than 1 year old
'I love you, Google,' scream text interface obsessives
Google has introduced a command line utility for accessing various Chocolate Factory services, including YouTube, Blogger, Google Docs, Calender, and Contacts. And an army of text-interface obsessives have responded with glee.
"I love you!!" one coder told Google. "This couldn't be better!!"
"Ooh, I hope it's not April 1 today. *calendar check* Wow, nope!" said another. "There goes my Friday evening."
"Effin amazing" said a third.
Google CL is a Python application that uses the gdata Python client library to make Google Data API calls from the command line. Currently, it supports Blogger, Picasa, YouTube, Google Docs, Contacts, and Calendar.
Just think of it. You can update your blog or browse a list of web videos or update your online calendar – all without stooping to the level of a GUI interface.
"Ever wanted to upload a folder full of photos to Picasa from a command prompt?" Google said in a blog post. "We did, a lot, last summer. It made us want to say:
$ google picasa create --title "My album" ~/Photos/vacation/*.jpg
So we wrote a program to do that, and a whole lot more."
The open source Google CL is hosted on Google Code, and you can browse the project here. Once you download the application, you too can enjoy such command line orgasms as:
$ google blogger post --blog "My blog" --tags "python, googlecl, development" my_post.html
$ google calendar add "Lunch with Jason tomorrow at noon"
$ google docs edit --title "Shopping list" --editor vim
The project is geared towards Linux. Google offers a Linux .deb package and a tar archive for download. But independent developer Isaac Truett is offering instructions for using the tool on Windows. And Google points to some Mac tips here.
Example scripts are available here. ®


text:
Stay safe, stay active
Free home workouts on the Places Locker app
Stay safe, stay active
It's important now, more than ever, to keep active. Exercise is a known immune booster, which could all do with a lot of right now, but it's also a very effective mood booster. With us all cooped up indoors for the foreseeable future, it is imperative that we keep moving! If you didn't already know, we have some fantastic FREE at home workouts on our Places Locker app. With over 100 to choose from, there is something for everyone; Les Mills classes, Born to Move classes for kids and Pre and Postnatal workouts. There are even mindfulness sessions to help you feel calm in this time of uncertainty.
So, why not grab your BodyCombat or BodyPump buddies, get on a video call and workout together and by the time we open our doors, it'll feel like you've never been away!
Download our Places Locker app at App Store or Google Play


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I started learning a martial art about 5 years ago, and I did it for 2 years. I very liked it, however I had to stop.
I didn't want to lose what I've already learned, so I kept practicing. Alone. Doing the forms, punching, blocking, kicking in the air, imaginary enemies etc.
Sometimes I stopped for a few months, because of university and other things.
I feel like I kept myself in a good shape, I still remember almost all the things.
One day I will continue to practice like I did before, but I want to finish my studies and have a good job.
My question is, is it worth practicing alone? How should I do it in the most efficient way?
(A wooden dummy would be awesome but that is way too expensive.)
I really would like to practice with somebody, however I don't know anyone who lives near, and I don't know any place we could go to practice.


text:
This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
John Swallow took in $105,000 in campaign contributions from companies or individuals who already had run afoul of regulators even though the attorney general's office he hoped to run could be called upon to prosecute some of those same donors.
Take the case of Nathaniel "Than" Merrill, a star of the A&E television series "Flip This House" and co-owner of FortuneBuilders, a real estate investment seminar company.
Sometime in May 2012, two investigators from the Utah Division of Consumer Protection showed up at the Draper office of Merrill's business to follow up on a tip that he was running an unlicensed telemarketing operation.
On May 19, Merrill gave $5,000 to Swallow's campaign for attorney general.
Six days later, the campaign recorded a $15,000 contribution from Merrill the same day the division sent a letter to his telemarketing company saying it needed to register.
Investigators returned June 22 and found the telemarketing operation expanded but still unlicensed. On July 5, the division issued an administrative citation alleging the company had violated state law. Another Merrill donation to Swallow came 20 days later, this one for $10,000.
So Merrill gave $30,000 to Swallow during the time the company was under investigation by a state agency represented by the attorney general's office where Swallow was the top lieutenant and soon would become the top dog.
Merrill's company ended up settling the case in August, admitting to violating state law and paying a $2,500 fine.
But Merrill's contributions to Swallow's successful $1.4 million campaign were hardly the only ones of that sort. A Salt Lake Tribune analysis shows Utah's attorney-general-in-waiting took in $105,000 from companies or individuals already in trouble with regulators and another $170,000 from companies or officers who later would be cited for infractions by state or federal authorities.
Those figures concern critics of Swallow, who succeeded Mark Shurtleff as attorney general in January, because his office represents, as the official legal counsel, the same state agencies that leveled the sanctions.
Traci Gundersen, former director of the Division of Consumer Protection, already has a complaint before the Utah State Bar alleging Swallow breached attorney-client ethics standards during a conversation with a telemarketer who had been cited by her division. In that call, which was recorded, Swallow said he planned to try to put the consumer division under the control of the attorney general's office.
Gundersen declined to comment on ethical questions surrounding the Merrill donations to Swallow. She did note, however, that the division had launched a campaign against unlawful telemarketers.
"The telemarketing industry," she said, "became aware, sometime in the early months of 2012, that the Consumer Protection Division was really starting to crack down on the unregistered telemarketers."
Merrill a California resident who claims he was unaware that a telemarketing permit was required in Utah said he donated to Swallow because the candidate was "pro-business" and added he did not expect any favorable treatment as a result of the contributions.
"Nobody ever suggested we could be helped by making a donation," Merrill wrote in an email. "Nor did John ever suggest anything."
But three Utah businessmen have alleged that Swallow, as a fundraiser for Shurtleff in 2009, had suggested that a donation to Shurtleff's campaign would win them special consideration in the attorney general's office if complaints arose about their operations.
While not commenting directly on the Swallow donations, University of Utah law professor Emily Chiang said it's fairly standard practice for law firms to check for possible conflicts of interest.
"Law firms screen for conflicts of interest as a routine matter," Chiang wrote in an email, "typically by consulting lists of existing clients before taking on new business to make sure nothing conflicts."
The attorney general's office spokesman, Paul Murphy, said the Division of Consumer Protection usually handles administrative citations without contacting his office, but he acknowledged the office can check for possible conflicts.
Jason Powers, a campaign adviser to Swallow, repeated earlier statements that all the donations were legal. He did not respond to questions about ethical issues surrounding them.
A Tribune analysis showed that 83 percent of Swallow's campaign donations of $5,000 or more excluding contributions from Shurtleff's political-action committee and Republican Party sources came from individuals or companies with ties to online marketing, multilevel marketing, telemarketing, payday loans or alarm companies all of which frequently draw the attention of consumer watchdogs.
Nearly 62 percent of Shurtleff's $1.9 million in donations from 2008 through 2012 came from similar companies and individuals.
Besides Merrill Swallow's fifth-largest donor, not counting Shurtleff's PAC and the party here are some others who donated to Swallow after they already had been cited or sued by federal or state regulators:
• Henry S. Brock, of St. George, was cited in 2003 by the Division of Securities and reached a settlement in 2006. He was fined $100,000 for acting as an investment adviser while not licensed to do so and for fraud while soliciting investors. About 6½ years after the settlement, Brock donated $10,000 to the Swallow campaign through his Mutual Benefit International Group Ltd. Then, about four months later, attorneys for Brock sued the state alleging he was treated improperly in the 2003 actions.
• The Tax Club donated $20,000. It was cited in Utah in 2008 and then sued earlier this year by the Federal Trade Commission.
• Compadre Holdings kicked in $5,000. Owner Vincent Ney was cited in at least three states outside of Utah for violations related to payday loans.
• Barry Cloyd, who gave $15,000, was cited twice in 2010, once for securities violations and once by the Utah Division of Consumer Protection. The securities complaint was later dismissed. The consumer citation was dropped as well after restitution was paid.
• Armando Montelongo and Performance Advantage Group, cited in December 2011 in Texas, contributed $15,000.
• Scott Carter, of Goldline, donated $5,000. Goldline was investigated or cited in various states, including a criminal complaint in Southern California in 2011 accusing Carter of making false or misleading statements.
• Premier Mentoring Inc. gave $5,000. It was cited twice, in 2008 and 2009, by the Utah Division of Consumer Protection.
Swallow is under investigation by federal, state and county authorities for a series of alleged misdeeds. He has denied wrongdoing.
Twitter: @TomHarveySltrib